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A look at York County Prison's new work-release facility

The total cost of the project, including for purchasing the site, is $6.95 million, and county officials say they are finishing the project on time and under budget.

By ED MAHON Daily Record/Sunday News

Updated:
11/30/2012 06:46:19 PM EST

York County Prison's new work-release facility at 3403 Concord Road in Springettsbury Township has space for 312 inmates. York County Prison Warden Mary Sabol said photos of the most of the inside were not allowed because of security reasons. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - KATE PENN)

York, PA -

In York County Prison's new work-release facility, inmates get a bunk, a locker and a bin.

The walls in the women's side are light green, while the men's side has a grayish-blue hue.

And the facility has machines for inmates to do their own laundry.

"This is a no-frills building," said York County Commissioner Doug Hoke, who's also president of the prison board.

Hoke and other York County officials provided a tour Thursday afternoon of the new facility, which is not yet occupied.

The total cost of the project is $6.95 million, and county officials say they are finishing the project on time and under budget.

"As we walk through the building, you're not gonna see any fancy stuff," county engineer John Klinedinst said. "...You're gonna see drywall. You're gonna see painted block. You're gonna see drop-in ceilings -- some places. You're not gonna see ceilings other places. This is a very Spartan, fundamental, work product here."

'Smelled like rubber'

In February 2011, commissioners approved purchasing the facility at 3403 Concord Road, for $1.1 million. The site is located across from the prison in Springettsbury Township, and the facility will replace trailers on prison grounds.

County officials also said they had an agreement with Springettsbury Township to remove the men's trailers.

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Hoke said the facility was the site of former tire treading business "that was sitting vacant for many, many years."

Klinedinst said when they first started working on the project, "it smelled like rubber in this place."

Klinedinst said an interim code inspection of the facility took place on Wednesday, and another inspection is scheduled to take place next week.

Hoke said the new facility will eliminate the cost of leasing the trailers, which he said is about $100,000 a year. They are used for housing male work-release inmates, while female ones are housed in a section of the prison.

Hoke said the facility also frees up about 150 beds in the main prison. And he hopes to fill them with federal immigration detainees in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The county receives $83 a day for each of those detainees.

"We certainly believe we're going to be generating income ... to pay for this facility in future years," Hoke said.

York County Prison Warden Mary Sabol said the county also has a contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to provide work-release space for parole cases.

Rest of the tour

Here are some other highlights from the tour:

--- John McCoy, facilities manager for the prison, said the male and female dining rooms double as visitation areas for families. The food will be cooked in the main prison and be brought over to the work-release facility to be served.

--- The common area on the men's side has two televisions.

"I think we get seven stations," McCoy said.

The women's side has one television.

York County spokesman Carl Lindquist has previously said television service at the prison is paid for by inmates, not taxpayers, from a commission that inmates pay when buying goods at the prison commissary.

--- Inmates helped with the project.

York County Commissioner Doug Hoke said the new-work release facility for the York County Prison will help generate revenue for the county. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - KATE PENN)

"The inmates did actually about 45,000 feet worth of wiring in this building," McCoy said. "They pulled all the wires for the contractors."

By the numbers

The new facility can house 232 male and 80 female inmates, a total of 312, according to John McCoy, facilities manager for the prison.

Carbon monoxide leak

--- Last week, a carbon monoxide leak at York County Prison sent 49 female inmates to various hospitals for treatment. The McClure Co. has a contract with the county to work on the prison's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, including the one believed to be the source of the carbon monoxide, according to county officials.

York County Prison Warden Mary Sabol said the McClure Co. was not a contractor for the new work-release facility.

--- The new-work release facility does not have built-in carbon monoxide detectors. Facilities manager John McCoy said portable ones will be used.

--- Sabol said she didn't know yet how much the costs would be related to the carbon monoxide leak.

The county has an agreement with PrimeCare Medical Inc. to provide health care services for inmates. A copy of the agreement, obtained after a Right-to-Know request, describes limits for "catastrophic" events.

The agreement says PrimeCare will only be liable for up to $18,000 "for illness or injury per single inmate/patient and $50,000 ... in the aggregate for any contagious illness or injury affecting more than one (1) inmate/patient arising from the same occurrence."

County spokesman Carl Lindquist said in an email that county officials can't comment on the contract for legal reasons.